Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be a darker sequel like Empire Strikes Back

PS5 owners rejoice, as it sounds like our prayers for a darker Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have been answered; at least that’s according to recent comments from Marvel’s Creative Vice President Bill Rosemann.

During an appearance on the This Week in Marvel Podcast, Rosemann explained that “if the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars [A New Hope], Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire [Strikes Back]. It gets a little darker.” This shift in tone certainly makes a lot of sense based on the trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that was shown off at the PlayStation Showcase earlier this month.

In it we see Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales teaming up to fight various goons, before turning to see Venom ominously loom out of a darkness-filled alleyway. At the same an intimidating voice-over suggests Kraven the Hunter will be on the prowl too, adding yet another fear-inducing foe to the game’s cast list.

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Analysis: Spider-Man Turn On the Dark

While Spider-Man is known for his colorful costumes and light-hearted quips, the wall-crawler has had his fair share of dark storylines and frightening villains over the years. The most well-known is the symbiote Venom with his hulking frame and razor-sharp teeth, but they are from the only one.

Film fans will remember Curt Connors aka The Lizard from Amazing Spider-Man 2 - a scientist turned terrifying beast thanks to an experiment gone wrong. While those who prefer comics will almost certainly be familiar with Spider-Verse, a series that sees Peter Parker and his multi-versal counterparts hunted down by a league of vampires led by Morlun.

While we don’t know if Lizard, Morlun, or other foes like the Jackal (from Spider-Man’s Clone Saga) will show up in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, there’s a strong chance characters like them will make an appearance and we couldn’t be more excited.

Given the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, there’s always a worry that other versions of the same characters will be pushed into becoming more and more like their highly profitable and more family-friendly counterparts. Based on what we’re hearing about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 so far, it looks like Insomniac has the freedom to make their own version of Spider-Man, with the kind of story that we might not see Tom Holland star in anytime soon.

It appears the darker story promise isn’t just talk either. While the trailer’s tone was one hint of this we also have Tony Todd’s casting as the voice of Venom; Todd is an actor most will know as Candyman from the horror franchise of the same name. If you’re looking for a lead antagonist to scare the heebie-jeebies out of us, casting a horror actor to play them is a very good start.